Board nixes contract, says it's too costly

Cloquet School Board members sent Superintendent Michael Cary back to the bargaining table with the top can didate for MARSS/student data information specialist at Monday's meeting.

Board member Nate Sandman - whose wife, Nicole, resigned from the Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System position to work as secretary to the principal at the high school - said he felt the insurance and salary arrangement was too generous, and expressed concern that the salary steps were on the high side.

The MARSS specialist works with student data and reports, including October 1 enrollments, December 1 child counts, and average daily membership, all important reports that can directly impact funding for the school district.

Board member Duane Buytaert agreed, and both men expressed concern about setting a precedent with the contract that would create problems with other staff negotiations in the future.

"It seems like a first-year position shouldn't be given 25 days of vacation," Buytaert said. "I would like to start applying for jobs and in Year One I get 25 days of vacation."

Buytaert also expressed concern about the candidate getting approximately $9,000 above and beyond the previous MARSS specialist salary because the district wouldn't be paying for her insurance. (Just over $9,300 is the district's approximate share of a single person's insurance.)

"I don't think we've done that before, where we've offset someone not taking insurance by this much money," Buytaert said. "I think we probably have some staff currently working for the district who in lieu of insurance ... would jump at $9,000."

Cary said he'd negotiated a step lower after previous feedback from the board, but it wasn't enough to gain the board's approval.

Buytaert and Sandman voted "no" to the contract, while Board Chair Ted Lammi and board member Dave Battaglia voted "yes," meaning the vote did not pass. Board members Jim Crowley and Hawk Huard were absent.

All the board members and Cary agreed that the person was an excellent candidate, but the board asked that Cary bring the contract more in line with other employee benefit packages. If the top candidate didn't want to negotiate further, Cary said he would begin talks with the next favorite candidate.

In other matters Monday:

• Superintendent Cary told the board that e-learning days will not be an option this year for snow days in the Cloquet School District, but staff and administration are working toward making e-learning days part of the plan for the 2020-21 school year. State law says the district must communicate e-learning days at the start of the school year, Cary explained.

• Board members voted to terminate the contract with Snowmen, Inc. because the contractor failed to plow at Churchill prior to school starting on Dec. 3, causing school to be canceled at the elementary for a second day while the rest of the district went back to school. The board awarded the contract to 3D Construction instead, which already has the contracts for the high school and middle school.

The Cloquet School Board won't meet a second time this month because of the holiday break. The board's next meeting is set for Jan. 13.